Hello Everyone!
I am back with yet another new chapter for you all to enjoy.
Nothing new to report, so let's get on with the story.
Chapter Sixteen: Team Captured!
Time: September 10, 2006. 1300 Hours. Location: Space Station Liberty. Specific Location : Unnamed Nebula.
Gloval stared down at the report in his hands as he sat in his temporary office as the upgrades for the Macross continued on.
After he returned to the Macross, he and his crew left the Macross and quickly assumed control of Space Station Liberty. The first thing they did was contact Atlantis and tell them what they found. Immediately all the Platos in Pegasus came flying over to Liberty and were quickly docked with the station and their crew came onto the station to help manage it.
Liberty herself and her capabilities are now understood better. Liberty has a grand total of 300 anti-warship cannons spread around her frame along with over 30 different Drone Launchers so she can fire her 200,000 Drones. So, assaulting Liberty was an exercise in futility, unless you are a fighter pilot, as the lack of AA guns leaves Liberty with a slight flaw that can be exploited. At least until the 2,000 x 30 mm batteries are completed.
Liberty is powered via Juggernaut Station, who absorbs energy from the core of a black hole and then sends it out through a system of small satellites hidden as meteorites across Pegasus until it reaches Liberty. Atlantis never was installed with this system, but if she was, she would never have to worry about energy again, so long as she stays in Pegasus. Juggernaut cannot send energy to a target if they are 10 light years outside of Pegasus.
On another note, all ADF and SGC vessels have been ordered to come to Liberty to receive massive ship wide upgrades.
For all the Daedalus class warships, they are getting a massive series of upgrades. They are being increased in size from the 225 meters in length to a length of 675 meters long, tripling their length and their size. As such, they are also getting a lot more weapons now as well. Their new set of armaments is as follows: 72 x 30 mm CIWS turrets, 12 x 72 mm particle cannons, 7 x 100 mm particle cannons, 3,000 Drone weapons in 2 drone launchers, 8 x torpedo tubes, and 20 ten-tube Stargazer pods.
The new Daedalus class warships now also have three Protoculture/Naquada Reflex furnaces to provide them with a total of 25% of a ZPM at all given times. In time, these reactors can be upgraded even farther to provide even more energy.
Also, each Daedalus class warship now comes with a specially built AI for just that warship, while also having the mental interface system that is finally being made available for all capitol class warships while the latest in crystal technology allows for even greater computing power. Enhanced targeting computers allow for more accurate weapon fire.
Each Daedalus will now have four hanger bays, allowing the Daedalus class to carry 48 Pendragons, 12 Ghosts, 6 Jumpers, as well as four Gawain Destroids and a single Monster Destroid.
The bridge has also been made to be buried inside of the frame of the warship, while all windows have been removed from the frame as well and in their stead life-like holographic screens have been put up. The bridge is now located around the back end of the warship and underneath lots of armor to better protect the bridge crew from attacks.
The Daedalus class now comes in the space black armor variation the Macross herself is being built up in. Even stronger shields have been included as well and also the hull polarization effect is now available to the Daedalus class as well.
All in all, the Daedalus class will serve the ADF and the SGC well in future combat missions due to all these upgrades.
Also, the first of the new Shimakaze class Destroyers have finally started production and will be completed soon.
Out of the ten designs entered to become the newest Destroyer class, the Shimakaze won by a land slide.
Being around 1,000 meters in length, the Shimakaze class is a large warship, but also the Shimakaze is also very thickly built, having a very thick hull to prevent damage. She has a impressive armament of 84 x 30 mm CIWS turrets, 20 x 72 mm particle cannons, 10 x 100 mm particle cannons, 6,000 Drones in four launchers, 12 torpedo tubes, 24 ten-tube Stargazer launchers and a single Synchro cannon at the bow of the warship. For a ship her size, she has a very impressive amount of weaponry. She maybe only a silver smaller then the Macross in her first iteration in length, however the Shimakaze is much slimmer and not as tall, so there is less space to put weapons on her frame, so the fact they were able to put so many on her frame and not cause issues is just a testament to the shear engineering capabilities of the ADF and SGC.
The Shimakaze is slightly slower then the Daedalus, only being capable of 95,000 mps when using sublight speeds. She does however have much stronger shields as she has three reactors that are larger then the Daedalus class, allowing the Shimakaze 35% of a ZPM at all given times. That may not sound like a lot, but a ZPM puts out an insane amount of energy and having ten percent more of that amount of energy at any given time a great advantage to have.
She has the same mental interface system as the Daedalus, Macross and other units in the ADF repertoire and also has purpose built AI's built into the ship. The scanning capabilities of the Shimakaze is only slightly better then the Daedalus. The Shimakaze also has Asgard Beam technology, teleporter booths, tractor beams, Intergalactic Hyperspace Fold Generator and much more.
The Shimakaze cannot carry any-type of auxiliary craft like fighters or Destroids, she has escape pods and that is it. She is a Destroyer and focuses only on capitol ship engagements.
Already four of these type of warships are nearing completion. What would normally take weeks for the ADF facilities at Moon Base ALUCE is being completed in only a little over a week here at Liberty. It is not a lie when Liberty is called the greatest ship construction facility know to mankind. Even the Asgard are astonished by the capabilities of Liberty.
The Macross herself is around 33% done with her upgrades and will soon be able to sail through the stars once more. Gloval can hardly even recognize the old girl now.
Her hull is now black with only a slight bit of silver here and there, not to mention her two large hexagonal shaped Synchro cannons at the end of her booms. Her hull is thicker, tougher and is now dotted with many more weapons then before. She is well and truly a fleet unto herself in terms of firepower.
She now carries 210 x 30 mm CIWS turrets, 60 x 72 mm particle cannons, 24 x 100 mm particle cannons, 24,000 Improved Alterran Drone weapons in eight launchers, 34 torpedo tubes as well as 40 ten-tube Stargazer missile launchers, and two massive Synchro cannons to round out her arsenal of weapons. To fight the Macross now would be suicide for any one ship. Only the Zor class Dreadnoughts of the Asgard would have any chance at all in defeating the Macross and even then, it would extremely hard for the Zor class to claim victory.
Tougher, thicker hull, more weapons, improved reactors and mental control system are but a few of the many upgrades the Macross now has. She truly deserves the title of strongest warship in the ADF arsenal.
As for the Plato class, she isn't getting any new upgrades besides longer reaching cannons, more powerful reactors, tougher shields, slightly faster engines and a mental control interface system and this is it. Also, over 12 new Plato class frigates are being built for usage by the SGC and the ADF as well. Their names are to be the Intrepid, the Howler, the Midway, the Little Big Horn, the Sentry, the Atlas, the Shiroyama, the Blitzkrieg, the Quantum, the Mitsubishi, the Nagasaki, and the Lexington.
So far the newest Plato class warships are roughly 57% completed and their crews have been brought from Atlantis and the SGC to train and make themselves ready to start fighting the Wraith and other threats to Earth.
However, Liberty has presented the ADF and the SGC with yet another problem: not enough personnel. It has always been the bane of the SGC and it is the bane of the ADF as well. The simple truth of the matter is this: there just isn't enough personnel to man many more warships. They can build the warships faster then crew can be trained to man them.
After the newest warships are finished and then sent into action, the ADF and the SGC will no longer be capable of launching or manning anymore warships unless more recruits are found and put into service.
The SGC has been trying to fix that issue by telling a few more people about the program and then quickly getting them off-world to Liberty to begun their training, however they cannot get enough people here quick enough. Many people within the ADF and the SGC have suggested Disclosure of the Stargate to the public to try and get more people out here, but the SGC thinks it best to simply wait.
The long term plan of the SGC is this: quietly introduce the public to new technologies created by the Stargate program and slowly increase the technological levels of Earth to the point space travel is achieved by Earth herself, that way when the Stargate is revealed, it won't be such a big blow. They will be learning Earth has been out among the stars for years now and is a much bigger player on the galactic scene then previously thought.
However, it will take years for this plan to come to fruition and right now, they are fighting a war against an alien power that wants nothing more then their extinction. They need more men and women out here fighting the Wraith and they need it now.
The Replicators have been a big help in providing needed work force to help aid the ADF and the SGC, but they are not fighters, they cannot aid the ADF or the SGC in battle, which is where the two programs need help the most.
Even with the volunteer Athosians and several other races, these people are much harder and longer to train, as they not only have to go through boot camp, but then have to be taught how to activate and use the technology found of Tau'ri warships. It takes twice the time to train an Athosian then it does a Tau'ri civilian.
The Satedans are undergoing rehab, so they are unable to go through boot camp as well, leaving the recruitment pool pretty shallow for the needs of the ever expanding ADF.
Right now, there is no solution to this situation and until one is found, the ADF and SGC will just have to make due with the 24 warships that are under the banner of the Tau'ri right now.
Gloval sighed as placed the report back on his desk and then began to go over other reports from the ADF that he has.
So far, the ground forces have been having a much better time then the space forces, as the number of Cyclones necessary to outfit the entirety of the ADF with their own Cyclone armor has finally been achieved, while Destroid forces have also increased as well.
The SGC has finished construction on a base on Mars as well, after they have finally finished terraforming Mars as well. Between Icarus Base and the new Nova Base, the SGC has two massive bases in their own solar system to use along with Granada Base.
Nova Base differs slightly from Icarus Base, as Nova Base is used primarily as a headquarters for the new Area 52 Research teams.
Area 52 was formed as a sister group to Area 51. While Area 51 focuses on learning and reverse engineering technologies they have found across the Milky Way Galaxy during the SGC's travels, Area 51 focuses exclusively on creating technology for civilian usage. Like advanced energy cells that can be used to power cars instead of gasoline or holographic screens so that paper products can be replaced completely. These technologies will be introduced to the world wide market through the myriad of shell companies that the IOA has created across the world and then the funds generated from these dozens of new technologies will be turned into helping continue the SGC's operations.
So far, Area 52 has developed a replacement to the aging Space Shuttle for NASA. Using the RDF designs for their own shuttles, Area 52 has managed to create a new shuttle that they will give to NASA that doesn't use too many alien technologies.
Also, crystalline based computers are also going to be released a week after the new space shuttle is released. Models state that within three months, these new computers should be selling better then any other brand of computer bar none, due to their ludicrously fast ability to read and process data.
The final new technology that Area 52 is planning to release as of now is a special type of energy cell that is a heavily reduced version of the energy cells that the Cyclone's and the energy weapons like the A-55 use. Using these energy cells, cars will no longer have to run on gasoline to get the range that they normally would. This is a huge step forwards in helping reduce the damage done to the environment by human industrialization.
Many more products have been suggested for release, however they have not yet been approved to be released by the IOA just yet.
Gloval could not help the slight growl of displeasure when he thought about those suit wearing politicians back on Earth. All they seem to do is simply do everything in their power to make everything much more complicated then they have to be.
They tried to forcibly coerce the ADF into bending to their control and even threatened to have Weir removed from Atlantis. And that was only the beginning of the headache that is the IOA.
The ADF has for the most part just ignored the IOA entirely, leaving it to Woolsey to interact with his former comrades, but recently the IOA has really started to test the patience of the ADF to the limit.
They first demanded that the Lanteans on Atlantis be sent to Earth so they might be used to advance the planet. The ADF refused, as the Lanteans are their own sovereign people and have a right to be on Atlantis, even more so then the ADF. And removing them from the home only to use them to build more advanced technologies will not work out well. The Lanteans are a strong willed people and will not bend to the will of the IOA, no matter what.
Next, the wanted both the Orion and the Aurora to be sent back to Earth after their retrofit is completed. The ADF refused, as they need the warships more then the SGC since the ADF is actually fighting a war and the SGC is simply exploring right now, with only a few minor skirmishes here and there.
Finally, the IOA almost outright demanded that Space Station Liberty be moved into the Milky Way galaxy. Once again, the SDF put their foot down and told the IOA Liberty is staying where she is, no matter what. For one, Liberty is far too large to be moved. There is no feasible way to move Liberty. Her energy comes from Juggernaut station and while in hyperspace, Liberty would not receive any energy, thus falling back out of Hyperspace. And there is now reactor large enough to power a station as massive as Liberty in anyway shape of form. Even the Protoculture/Reflex Furnaces cannot offer enough energy for Liberty and there is not enough ZPM's to move Liberty as well, plus there is also the fact that Liberty has no form of FTL travel. No Hyperdrive, no Fold Generator, nothing. She was never meant to be moved and thus rely on the Nebula around her for cover.
The nebula is actually artificially created. Janus somehow managed to create this nebula, which completely blocks Wraith sensors and Hyperdrive's from entering this area and given ho large the nebula is, the Wraith have very little chance of finding Liberty. And even if they did, Liberty can defend herself and also can cloak as well, if only for a limited amount of time, so Liberty is safe where she is.
However, the effort of sending all these warships to Pegasus to be refit and then send them all the way back, only to have to recall them back to Liberty when inevitably more upgrades become available has called the ADF to try and come up with a solution, one the Asgard provided for them.
Using the super advanced industrial level beaming technology of the Zor class, the Asgard can build a second Liberty class space station near Earth, that way the ADF and the SGC can freely upgrade their warships without having to send them across galaxies or spend months upgrading them.
However, the main problem with this idea is hiding the second Liberty class space station. They are massive monoliths of steel and hiding them from Earth or the other space faring races of the Milky way galaxy, like the Lucian Alliance or the few remaining Goa'uld system lords is a very tricky endeavor. Also, they would have to build a second Juggernaut station or make a way for Juggernaut to send energy across galaxies to the second Liberty station.
And this is all a moot point, since the location for Juggernaut station have not been disclosed as of now. They know how to build a second Juggernaut station, but it would take a very long time to build a massive station of Juggernaut's size and also, the technology required to build Juggernaut is on another level compared to all other Ancient technology. The tech on the five super stations built by Janus are the greatest and most advanced pieces of Ancient technology ever created, bar none. Even the technological level of Atlantis is less then the technology of Juggernaut, Liberty and the other stations.
So to build another Juggernaut station is a nigh impossible task, since the resources, time and man power required to build a station of that size quickly would be an enormous undertaking. It took almost ten thousand years to get the originals completed and even though they can build them quicker, it would still be a ten year minimum task to build a single station of this size currently. In the future they might be able to build these stations quicker, but right now it is just impossible.
Liberty was staying where she currently is, no matter what. They cannot move her and even if they could, it would be a horrible idea to move such a station so close to Earth. No, for right now the ADF and SGC will just have to live with the burden of continuously sending their warships to this remote nebula in another galaxy until such a time as they can construct another Liberty class station.
Gloval took a long sip from his coffee as he put that report away and then took up the last report on his desk, one that is sending warning alarms all throughout his head.
After the disastrous first mission with the Genii, the ADF has not heard a word about that particular culture of people. They had even sent a warship by the Genii's home planet once, but after flying by saw nothing that would indicate any hostile actions or plans going on.
After Cowen's ominous declaration to Colonel Sheppard a year ago, no hostile actions have been taken against the ADF since that point. However, that does not mean the ADF is going to let their guard down regarding the Genii. They maybe a minor threat to the ADF now, however that doesn't mean they cannot effect the ADF's ability to continue their fight against the Wraith.
So, several Ghost's have been deployed around the Genii's home-planet and are constantly running scans all around the planet, searching and looking for anything that might be a threat to the safety of Atlantis or her assets.
So far, nothing as been identified as a threat as of yet, but surveillance will continue until a time as when the Genii have been declared a non-threat.
Gloval sighed as he placed the report down and turned around, the holographic screen showing the kaleidoscope of colors wrapping around Liberty like a river.
Gloval stared at the sight before him, a slight sense of calmness slowly coming over his being as he began to relax somewhat.
However, a slight nagging at the back of his head told him something was going to happen and whatever it was, it would be major.
Time: 1450 Hours. Location: Orbit of M7X-567
Rick Hunter sent mental commanded to the shuttle, causing the shuttle to rise out of the atmosphere of the planet with impeccable grace for a shuttle that is not a Puddle Jumper.
The shuttle he was currently flying was a prototype of the one Area 52 was planning to release to NASA. The name is the Horizon and it is of the Horizon class Deep Space Shuttle Craft. At a length of 35 feet, it is appropriately large for it's mission profile. As the only ADF Horizon class shuttle, the Horizon has a Hyperspace Fold Generator and limited shield capabilities, but has no weapons. The Horizon is much smaller then the NASA counterparts, as those shuttles are to be 175 to 195 feet long for much longer space flights, but as the Horizon has a Hyperspace Fold Generator, she is not meant for long term space exploration missions like the Horizon class is meant to be.
The Horizon's mission profile is to simply transport dignitaries, and diplomats from one planet to anther when larger ships or a Stargate are not available, that is all. And so far, she is doing her job really well.
The NASA version has neither shields nor a hyperdrive, but it does have limited sublight engines, allowing it reach to the farthest edges of the solar system in around a weeks time.
"So, that went well, right guys?" Rick asked his companions.
"Yeah. Those guys where super friendly. Also had some tasty food on them." Ben replied from his seat in the back.
"I thought they were nice to meet as well. Hope we can come back sometime, they had some really nice looking beaches." Max said as he held his book in his hands.
"Agreed. Although they are a little too friendly for my comfort, they were a nice group of people to meet." Lisa said as she continued write her report back to the ADF.
Lisa had been asked to negotiate a trade deal with the inhabitants of M7X-567 while Vermillion Squadron had been assigned to guard and transport her to the planet.
The mission was a success and currently they were going to return to Space Station Liberty to give their report.
"Agreed. Well, Fold Generator is spinning up, get ready for to Fold." Rick said as the humming noise of the Fold Generator grew and grew until it reached it's crescendo.
Rick was just about to initiate the Fold jump when something struck the shuttle and caused everything to do dark before restarting.
"What was that?" Lisa asked.
Rick brought up the sensor reading and saw a large spaceship bearing down on them.
"We have a spaceship bearing down upon us at 7 o'clock, 75 degrees off of the horizontal axis. They are firing at us." Rick replied as he brought up the shields, which absorbed the incoming attacks by the warship only slightly.
"Shields are down to 45% and Fold Generator is scrambled. Whatever they hit us with, it is not a weapon but a disruptor. Whatever they are, they want us alive." Rick said as he made the shuttle start flying erratically to try and dodge the incoming disruptor blasts from the unknown warship.
"How soon until we can Fold?" Lisa asked as the emergency protocols were engaged and a spacesuit formed around her, Ben, Max and Rick.
"It will take around two minutes before the Fold generator is ready to activate again. The whole generator has to do a full reboot to make sure nothing is damaged or fried from that blast. Can't risk jumping now unless we want to fry the generator and leave ourselves stranded somewhere." Rick replied as he continued in trying to by them some time by clicking a button on the right side of his console.
At the back of the shuttle, four hatches opened and launched twenty small spherical objects out into space. The sphere's all have four glowing circles around the middle section.
These are sensor buoys and they are the prototype for the next generation of flak in outer-space. As all civilizations use sensors to target objects, the idea is to create a dense field of objects that all fly and send out confusing signals to enemy ships. Hopefully the sensors will now say their is now multiple of the same ship and so confuse the weapons officer so they will target the buoys instead of the shuttle.
This is the first time the buoys have been used in combat and so Rick was not going to trust them in the least as they have a 20% success rate in the trials run by the scientists back at Moon Base ALUCE, but right now he needs more time and the buoys are all he has, so he is going to give them a try.
Rick then sent the shuttle flying towards the nearby moon, hoping to gain a bit of distance between the shuttle and that warship.
However, it appears the buoys are not fooling whoever is commanding that warship, as the warship ignores the buoys entirely and goes after the Horizon.
"Damn, those worthless buoys didn't do anything. Get ready you guys, I'm going to take energy from all non essential systems and push them towards sublight." Rick said as he sent mental commands to the Horizon, causing energy to be redirected into the sublight engines.
The four blue glowing sublight engines at the back of the shuttle glowed much brighter as more energy was pumped into them, causing the shuttle to go flying forwards as Rick tried to gain some distance.
However, the unknown warship was relentless in their pursuit of the Horizon and continued to fire at the fleeing shuttle, the bright ruby red bolts of energy fire streaking across the blackness of outer space as it raced towards the Horizon.
Unfortunately, even though Rick is one of the ADF's best pilots, he is in a shuttle, a large one at that, which has limited mobility and limited shielding, plus no weapons and so it was only a matter of time before the warship behind them got lucky and so it was as five disruptor bolts hit in rapid succession, causing nearly every single electrical system to be fried almost instantly, leaving the Horizon floating helplessly in outer space.
"Damn! Everything is down! Quick, activate the emergency beacon!" Rick yelled as be got out of the pilot seat and ran to the back of the shuttle and once there, swiped his left hand against a bulk head, which opened up to show a rack of X-23 magnums.
Max and Ben were already moving as they went to the bottom of the shuttle and once there, saw a two foot wide cylindrical object with four rectangular panels along the edges.
Max quickly grabbed the cylinder and took it over to the tube Ben had opened and then placed the cylinder into the tube. Once the cylinder was in the tube, Ben closed the hatch of the tube and then pulled a lever, shooting the cylinder out of the Horizon.
Once the cylinder was out of the Horizon, the four rectangular panels opened up as the hull of the device started glowing as it's built in Shadow Field was activated. Once the Shadow Field was online, the device began to do it's purpose and began to broadcast an emergency alert to all ADF forces within 5,700 light-years of the device. Vermillion Squadron only hoped reinforcements would arrive quickly as the Horizon was docked with the alien warship.
Back on the Horizon, Max, Ben, Rick and Lisa all had their magnums primed and ready to fire as the hatch to the Horizon was being breached. A large bolt of energy was slowly cutting the hatch along it's edges, coming closer to forcibly opening a path into the Horizon.
Seconds passed slowly as the energy continued onwards until it finished cutting the hatch open, the five inches of Trinium/Naquada mixed with Robotech alloys falling to the ground with a massive thud and then silence as the ADF members aimed their guns at the now exposed hatch.
A few seconds passed before a baseball sized sphere was tossed into the Horizon. It hit the wall adjacent to the hatch, ricocheted off and then rolled near Rick and the others.
The device was flashing and beeping quicker and quicker and before anyone could react, a large pulse was released that knocked out Ben, Max, Rick and Lisa within a second of being hit by the pulse.
Once the pulse was over, there was now four unconscious bodies on the Horizon.
Then, footsteps could be heard as two men and a woman entered the Horizon with hand guns that looked exactly like Ronon's walked in.
The six men walked over to the ADF members and took their particle magnums and checked them out.
"Larrin, their knocked out. Orders?" One asked.
"Take them onto our ship and put them in separate cells with two guards per person. I do not want any chance of them escaping. They are too important and we need them. After they are on-board, detach their shuttle and destroy it. Can't take it with us and don't want the Wraith to find it." Larrin said as she eyed the four ADF members for a moment and then left.
The four of the men quickly take Ben, Max, Rick and Lisa out of the Horizon and are quickly followed by the remaining two men out of the air lock and once everyone is out of the Horizon, the Horizon is detached from the unknown ship.
The unknown ship moves a little bit away from the Horizon and then begins to launch several large ruby red energy bolts that hit the Horizon and quickly tear the ship apart until the Horizon explodes in a massive explosion as her single Protoculture/Naquada Reflex Reactor is breached. Within seconds, the shuttle is nothing more then an expanding cloud of plasmatic gases.
After they finish destroying the Horizon, the unknown warship quickly turns itself towards their destination and jumps into Hyperspace, leaving only a few pieces of flotsam and a single emergency beacon as the remains of what happened here.
Time: 1500 Hours. Location: Space Station Liberty.
Gloval was furious, he had just gotten the news that the Horizon had launched her emergency beacon and a minute after that, the signal of the Horizon was lost. Already he had ordered the only working Plato class warship, the Archangel to go and investigate what happened. Rodney, Zor and Lang were going along to try and lend their aid if they could and if there was no evidence to the fate of the Horizon, head would roll.
Gloval took a deep breathe as he tried to keep his emotions in control. He knew that getting angry could lead to him making irrational and dangerous decisions that might end up doing more harm then good.
But it was so very hard to keep calm. Lisa is like the daughter he never had and now there was a good chance she was dead. Donald Hayes, Lisa's father had been a good friend to Gloval for many years and after they came into this reality, Gloval took it upon himself to make sure that Donald's only daughter was kept safe and now, it appears as if he has failed.
Gloval watched as the Archangel left her berth and moved out of the massive hanger of Liberty and quickly sped away from Liberty, heading for the edge of the nebula so they can safely commit a Hyperspace Fold.
Gloval silently gave a little prayer that the Archangel will be capable of finding Lisa, safe and sound.
Time: 1900 Hours. Location: Unknown.
Rick slowly groaned out a little as his eyes started fluttering open as he started to come back to consciousness. He started to get up off of the bed he was laying one checked out the room he is currently in.
The room is spartan in appearance, with only a single toilet and a shower on the left side of the room the only thing in the room besides the bed and there was a series of bars preventing him from leaving.
Rick groaned a little as he got up, he head slightly pounding.
Suddenly the door leading into this area opened up and a golden haired woman wearing skin tighter black leather clothing walked in and then motioned towards someone out of Rick's view.
Two men carrying blasters exactly like Ronon's came into view and unlocked the cell, the large bars retreating into the ceiling.
Rick wasn't stupid, trying to escape while to men carrying blasters like that would stun him before he could reach them. So, he would have to wait and bide his time, besides he wants answers to why he and the crew of the Horizon were attacked.
The two men took position on opposite sides of the room, easily capable of shooting Rick should he do anything to provoke them. The woman came within seven feet of Rick and said, "State your name, rank and where you got your ship."
Seeing as he had to play along if he wished to live, Rick said, "Name, Rick Hunter. Rank: Second Lt. As for where I got my ship, my organization gave it to me so myself and my teammates could transport a person of great importance on a mission of diplomacy."
The woman looked at Rick, appearing to consider his words before she said, "Follow me."
"Wait, where are my teammates?" Rick asked.
The woman stopped and then turned back to Rick and said, "They are alive. They are in other cells around the ship. Now, follow me and no more questions."
She then spun on her heels and walked out of room, followed quickly by Rick as he tried to keep up.
As they walked through the hallways of the ship, Rick was slightly astonished by the mismatching patchwork that makes up the ship. It is something he never thought he would see, a ship literally held together by nothing more then hope and dreams at this point. Rick never thought that a spaceship could be this badly held together and sill function, but here was the proof.
After a few minutes of walking, the woman led Rick to a large room where a few bowls of food were on a large table.
The woman motioned for Rick to sit down and then she went to the far end and sat down.
Rick sat down and hesitantly took a fruit from a plate.
"They are not poisoned. Why would go through all the trouble of capturing and the taking you alive only to kill you using poison, There are far easier and faster means to kill somebody." The woman said.
Rick had to admit she was right and so took a bit of the fruit. It wasn't bad tasting, but it was definitely stale.
"Now, let me answer a few questions you must have. I am Larrin and my people are the Travelers, we live in ships like this one for almost all of our lives. We only land on planets when we need to trade for supplies." Larrin started to explain.
"Living on a ship for all your lives? Doesn't sound to appealing." Rick said.
"Perhaps, but is better then being a herd animal, subject to the whim of the Wraith. Now, about my people. We need your help. We know you can operate Lantean technology." Larrin said.
"Lantean technology? What's that?" Rick said, trying to exude a calm attitude however on the inside his was starting to panic. What did she need a person who can operate Lantean technology?
"Look, you can keep a few of your secrets, however I know you are a member of the group of humans who use Lantean technology to do battle with the Wraith. You can try and deny it, but no one in this galaxy can create a shuttle like the one we took you and your crew from. There was no controls except two pads, just like a Lantean ship." Larrin said, her tone saying she was not in the mood for games.
"Okay, say I do have the gene. What do you need it for?" Rick asked.
Larrin replied with, "We need you to help us perfect a interface system for Lantean technology. We know they require e specific gene to operate such technology and since you have that gene, we need you to help us. Navik, my chief scientist, says we can perfect the interface system much easier if we use Lantean technology that has been initialized."
"What Lantean technology? Your ship is more advanced then most societies yes, but I don't see a single shred of Lantean tech on it and you blew up my shuttle, so we can't use that. So where is the source of the Lantean technology you are talking about?" Rick asked, highly confused by this woman.
Larrin simply said, "You'll see."
A voice came over the PA system and said, "Ma'am, we are nearing the coordinates."
Larrin smiled and said, "Take us out of hyperspace. Now Rick, follow me."
Larrin stood up and walked out of the room, followed by Rick and his two guards.
Larrin led the group to a hanger bay, where Lisa, Max and Ben were already waiting for them.
"Guys!" Rick shouted as he ran over to check them out.
"Skipper!"
"Rick!"
"Sir!"
Three different cries came back as he ran over and they ran to him.
"You guys okay?" Rick asked as he checked them over.
"Yeah. They did nothing to us. When we woke up they just took us to his hanger and said wait here. We've been here for around half an hour and then you came in." Lisa replied as she hugged Rick.
Just then a door closed behind the group and they all turned and saw the one hatch leading out of the hanger was closed, just as a red shield appeared beneath their feet.
"Rick, can you hear me?" Larrin asked.
"What are you doing Larrin?" Rick asked, his head screaming trap.
"Offering you a deal." came the reply as the hanger doors opened up, showing the blackness of outer-space. The ADF members where only kept from being sucked out into the void thanks only the force shield.
"What is going on? What is all this about?" Rick asked, completely confused.
"Look down and you will have your answers." Larrin simply replied.
Vermillion Squadron and Lisa all looked down and were shocked by what they saw.
It was a Aurora class battleship, in really good condition. Unlike the Orion or the Aurora herself, this Aurora class had no large patches of hull destroyed. There was only small little burn mark and a few places where the hull had been breached, but there was no breach larger then a person as far as they could see.
"I am sure you all recognize the technology. It's a Lantean battleship and you four are going to help me get it operational again." Larrin said as the group continued to look at the battleship.
Ten minutes later and Larrin with four men plus the four ADF members were now walking the halls of the Lantean warship.
"How did you guys find this thing? We have only found two of these things before?" Rick asked to the slight envy of the Travelers.
"We simply stumbled upon it five years ago. According to the few logs we have able to decode, the crew got into a battle with the Wraith. Communication was lost and the shields were failing, they however were able to get the ship into hyperspace. However, it was only at that point did they realize that the ship's main reactor was giving off deadly radiation. They had to abandon ship after that. They intended to come and effect repairs, but never did. The ship has been in a 200 year long elliptical orbit around a dwarf star ever since." Larrin explained.
"So wait? The main reactor has never been repaired? What about the radiation?" Rick asked. Larrin wasn't an idiot from what little he had learned about the woman, so she would never irradiate herself or her men. So, she must have found a way to protect herself and her men.
"Don't worry. We have set up shield emitters to protect key areas of the ship and we all have radiation detectors. It's perfectly safe. Alright Navik, take Rick and his men to the bridge. Start with sublight propulsion. I'll check the emitters." Larrin said as she walked away.
Rick, Max, Ben and Lisa were all taken onto the bridge by the remaining Travelers and once there, Navik said, "Sit here."
Rick sat down in the chair in the middle of the bridge and said, "So, what do want me to do first?"
"Turn on all systems for one." Navik replied as he typed on his hand held computer tablet looking device.
"Alright." Rick said as he placed his hand on the right arm pad and immediately, all the lights on the bridge activated as the main reactor started sending power throughout the ship.
Ruck immediately got a damage report from the computer and was slightly shocked by how well the ship has weathered ten thousand years of drifting in outer space.
Hull is at 95% integrity, much better then the Orion or the Aurora when those two warships were found. The pulse weapons were all offline, however they were still operational. Drone count was still high, being around 1,790 Drones left for the four Drone launchers. The ZPM the ship was carrying was currently connected, but the ship wasn't drawing power from it, luckily since the ZPM only has a 11% charge left. Sublight engines were still operational, same as the Hyperdrive, however the shield emitters are only at 20% and communication was offline was well and would require some repairs. All in all, this ship is combat operational, as long as it is one on one and they can finish the fight quickly, otherwise they will be facing problems.
"Amazing. I have been trying for months to get these systems operational. Try activating sublight engines and move us forwards slowly." Navik instructed.
"Understood. Turning on inertial dampeners, sending commands to sublight engines, 20% maximum thrust on straight path. Activating now." Rick said as the massive yellow glowing sublight engines of this warship activated, sending the vessel forwards for the first time in millennia.
"So far, so good. The system is not sending me any warnings, it appears the ship has been able to take the ten-thousand years of inactivity really well." Rick said as he continued to have the ship move in a straight path, followed quickly by the Travelers ship.
"Agreed. Now, try powering weapons and activate shields." Navik said.
"On it. We cannot fire the Drones from here, but the Pulse turrets are still operational. Powering them up and turning on shields. Where am I aiming for?" Rick asked.
"Aim for that large asteroid about three hundred kilometers off our port bow." Navik explained.
"Got it. Weapons are charged and shields are up. Firing now." Rick said as he sent the mental commands to the turrets.
The metal forms of the pulse turrets swiveled on their mounts as they aimed themselves towards the asteroid in question and a second later, over two dozen golden pulse blasts left the 24 pulse turrets and flew towards the asteroid.
When the pulse hit, massive craters where formed in the large asteroid as a large cloud of debris and shards of rock were thrown everywhere from the force f the blasts.
After a three second barrage Navik said, "Alright that enough. Now..."
Whatever Navik was about to say was drowned out as Max, who was sitting at the sensor console shouted out, "Incoming Hyperspace window! Judging from it's size it's a Wraith Cruiser!"
Rick immediately said, "Alright Ben head to the Drone control chair and take out that Cruiser now! We'll stay here and try and hold it off until then!"
Ben nodded and was about to take off when one of the Travelers said, "Hey what do you think you're doing?"
"Do you want to live? Our shields will not last long enough for us to kill that Cruiser using our pulse turrets before it destroys us. Right now, we need those Drones to take the Cruiser out. So unless you want to die, you'll shut up and let Ben do his job!" Rick shouted out as he angled the Lantean warship towards the Cruiser and let loose with all the Pulse turret, the golden blasts fling out and striking the Cruiser along the Cruisers left side.
The Cruiser retaliated to the barrage with one of it's own, the purple particle blasts striking the golden shields of the Aurora class warship.
Navik then said, "Let him go! Right now we need those weapons if we wish to live. The Hyperdrive isn't ready to activate and we cannot loose this ship. Let Ben do his job."
The Traveler looked like he wanted to argue, but relented and Ben took off, headed towards the Drone control chair as quickly as he could.
The shields of Lantean warship flared as the Wraith Cruiser let loose it's fury upon the Lantean warship, all the while the Lantean warship returned with it's own golden wrath, giant explosions rippling across the Wraith Cruiser.
However, on the bridge of the Aurora class warship, sparks were flying as systems overloaded due to the strain of trying to keep the Wraith attacks from damaging the ship.
"Shields are down to 6% and are falling quickly! We have overloads in numerous systems all across the board!" Lisa called out as she tried to redirect energy from other systems into shields to try and buy everyone on this ship some time.
"Pulse turrets are starting to overheat! We will loose all of them in around twenty seconds!" Max called out as well as a terminal near him exploded in a shower of sparks.
"Try and hold on a little longer! Ben is nearly there!" Rick said as he continued to watch Ben run to the control chair. He was only around twenty feet from the chair.
"Wraith Cruisers has started to increase her fire power! Hold on!" Lisa shouted out as the ship was rocked even harder due to the increase in fire power.
"Shields will fail in ten seconds!" Lisa shouted out just as Larrin can running onto the bridge.
"Status!" She shouted.
"Shields are failing, however Ben has reached the control chair and is launching Drones as we speak!" Rick replied as he tried to maneuver the Aurora class ship away from the incoming firepower.
Sure enough, Ben was currently sitting in the reclined control chair that was slowly spinning around in a clockwise manor, all the while he was concentrating on launching the Drones at the Cruiser.
The four Drone launchers opened up and within seconds, the ever familiar sight of golden squid shaped Alterran Drones flew out of the launchers and flew towards the Cruiser.
Within seconds they impacted the hull and quickly burrowed their way through the hull and out the other side, only to arch themselves backwards and do it all over again. This went on for three more times before the Cruiser exploded in a terrific flash of white light.
Everyone on the bridge sighed on relief as the sight of the Cruiser exploded signaled the end of the battle.
"Okay, damage report please." Rick said.
"We have five new hull breaches from where the Wraith blasts hit when the shields failed right before the Cruiser was destroyed. Luckily they did not hit the hyperdrive otherwise we would be stuck here. They mostly hit the pulse turrets and so we are now down to 11 operational pulse turrets. Shields are down and will not be back up for three hours." Max said as he read off the damage report.
"We have nothing on our scanners about any additional Wraith forces. I think that Cruiser was all by itself. Lucky for us because we cannot afford another battle." Lisa said.
"Agreed." Rick nodded his head as he called Ben using his chair.
"Hey Ben, you alright?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, just a little out of breathe. Otherwise, I'm good." Ben replied.
"Alright. Come back to the bridge buddy, you did good. Saved our asses." Rick said with a smile.
"Thank you sir. I'm on my way." Ben said as he got out of the control chair and started jogging back to the bridge.
"Where is our ship?" Larrin asked.
"Approximately ten-thousand kilometers away from us. They are currently taking care of the few Wraith Darts and transport vessels the Wraith Cruiser launched. They won't be able to reach us for another ten, twenty minutes." Lisa said.
"Well, thank you for saving the ship." Larrin said.
"It was nothing. We like to continue to live as well." Rick said.
"Even so, you saved the lives of myself and my men. Once the interface is complete, we will return you to your people." Larrin said, just as Max said, "Um, we have a problem."
"What do you mean?" Rick asked.
"We have 30 new life signs on the ship and unless your people docked with the ship when I wasn't looking, that can only mean one thing." Max said, as everyone on the bridge then realized what that meant.
"We have been boarded by Wraith." Rick said, as the dawning realization that they were only 9 people against thirty Wraith and there was no reinforcements coming anytime soon.
As we leave the tale for today, Vermillion Squadron, Lisa and the Travelers are faced with the problem of defending this Aurora class warship from thirty Wraith.
The battle of this Lantean warship has only just begun.
And that is that!
Another chapter bits the dust! Sorry this one took a little while to type, I have just been a little overwhelmed by the fact I now have classes at my college once again.
I hope to have the next chapter out soon, but who knows.
Also, thanks for the overwhelming support you guys have shown for this story and all my other stories as well. As a amateur writer, it means a lot to see people genuinely enjoying my stories and saying nice things about it. It truly makes my day.
Well, that it so if you have any comments, criticisms or concerns, please leave a review or send me a P.M., always appreciated.
Until next time, this is StrikeFreedom10 signing off.
Farewell for now!
PLUS ULTRA!